Korean Air maintains Manila route amid int’l capacity reduction

MANILA – Despite operating only 20 percent capacity in international flights for May and June, Korean Air (KE) would retain its Manila-Incheon-Manila routes, along with 30 other international routes.

Kim Ah-Hyun of KE's Global Communications team told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an email on Thursday that one daily roundtrip flights between Incheon and Manila will continue until June 30.

A daily roundtrip flight has been in effect since March 22 for KE. The carrier used to have two daily roundtrip flights between Manila and Incheon.

"As the situation is volatile because of Covid-19, further flight schedules cannot be addressed yet," Kim said, adding that there are no plans yet to resume the Clark-Incheon route until June due to the low travel demand and entry restrictions for all foreign nationals.

KE's flight 623 Incheon-Manila is suspended from May 4 to May 10, according to Kim, as the Philippine government earlier announced temporary flight restrictions, barring inbound international flights for one week starting May 3.

“The decision is meant to decongest our quarantine facilities to protect our people by preventing the further spread of Covid-19 and also ensure that our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are well taken care of when they arrive from abroad,” national policy against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a statement.